Don't Hate the Game, Hate the Player
by Shoko Fuuyumi
Summary: A 'male bonding' date between Tiger & Bunny. Now how will it turn out? A collaboration work with my friend.


Another collaboration work between my friend and me. We've written this a long time ago now, but only just edited it recently to upload it.

Please enjoy~ Please review if want or needed

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><p><strong>Don't Hate the Game, Hate the Player<strong>

**Tiger's POV~**

"WHAT?" My voice rang out in the office, loud enough to deafen everyone near me. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, but I did and I just had to let it all out. "And why?"

The man in front of me, Lloyds, my employer, rubbed his temples, whereas the man besides me, Bunny-chan, brought his palm to his face, sighing like he had just witnessed the most idiotic thing ever done by human kind. Damn bunny man.

"Wild Tiger-kun..." The former man began slowly, as if talking to a first grader. "If you had listened closely, instead of staring at the buildings behind me, you could have heard all of the answers to your 'questions'." He clasped his hands and tucked them under his chin, looking intensely at me. "But since you asked, I'll answer them."

"Ever since you two became a Hero duo, our sales have skyrocketed, which is not only good, but excellent. With things going like this, I have no complains. But," he continued, "there's something more we could do, and we should do it right now."

"And that is we go on some 'male bonding' dates." Bunny finished blandly, and Lloyds nodded in approval at him. I pouted. Why was I always the bad one?

"It's the 'male bonding' part that bothers me most!" I said agitatedly. "Things are good right now, aren't they? So why the man date?"

"Wild Tiger-kun, the public, the audience." Lloyds said, a bit more exasperatedly. "We need to show the audience that our Heroes have such good and healthy relationship, even outside of their work. That will definitely reel in more views and sales. Also, your teamwork is still very terrible. This is the chance for you two to improve that."

"That's stupid..." I muttered angrily.

"If you don't like it, you can quit." He deadpanned. I'd grown to hate that phrase ever since I started working for this company. He knew damn well I couldn't!

"Excuse me?" The silent Bunny finally spoke up. "If that's all can I go now?"

Lloyds waved his hand in dismissal. "Yes, that's all. Just remember tomorrow at 9 in Fornax Park. Be on time."

* * *

><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

Argh, if that stupid old man didn't ask stupid questions, I could have gone home earlier. I just wanted to retire to my bed and have a good rest. For the next day's man date, of course. I got a headache just thinking about it.

"Yo, Bunny-chan, wait for me!" The old man's obnoxious voice rang out from behind me. Maybe if I ignored him and kept walking, he'd go away. Go away. Go away. I prayed silently.

"Hah, finally caught up with you. Why didn't you wait for me?" He pouted, crossing his arms. No, I didn't just find that cute. I did not. I. Did. NOT. As long as I kept denying it, it wouldn't come true. That was what I believed.

"I did, I walked slower." I said, sounding as annoyed as possible. Maybe he'd take a hint and leave me alone.

"You didn't! And that's not it!" He pointed a finger at me accusingly. Figures he couldn't read the atmosphere (between the lines). "And why are you so nonchalant about tomorrow's," he stammered the next part, "d-date?"

I felt myself smirking at that. So he was embarrassed about it, huh? "What about it? It's just for our job. No big deal. Don't get so worked up about it."

"But it's still weird!" He sputtered. "There could have been other ways..."

"Too late for that now, though." I shrugged. But the old man was right, it was kind of weird and I didn't feel so comfortable about it. A job's a job, though. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do and I'd better go right now. See you tomorrow." I turned around and walked home, not even bothered to look at the fumming old man.

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><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

"Work, huh... Even if you say so..." I muttered under my breath and went home.

**The next day~**

... As expected Bunny is creating himself a crowd there, when I was left with no one... _'It's kind of sad, but... all good ends well. I'm not doing this for fame after all... But in the end... it is a bit... lonely...'_ I left out a long sigh, which Bunny noticed and walked towards me.

"Is there something wrong, ojii-san? Are you tired already?"

"Who are you kidding?" I grumbled. "Who do you think I am?"

"My partner." He said with a smile, to which the fan girls squealed from joy or something... I heard somebody saying "Oh my God, it's bl, yaoi, love, love love." But I just ignored her and just mumbled to myself "What 'yaoi'. So ridiculous..."

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><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

'_Yaoi? What's yaoi?'_ I heard Origami mentioned it once but I couldn't have cared enough to actually tune in. And the old man was grumbling about it just now... Wait, his cheeks... reddened? The blush wasn't really visible under the shade of his hat, but it was there. I was genuinely curious. I turned to my overly enthusiastic fangirls.

"I'm sorry, but my partner and I are here today for work, so I guess I'll see you next time. It's a pity I can't stay here longer." With a winning smile thrown in and honeyed words said, I made the girls squeal even more and take some more pictures of me. Aah, I already wanted to go home.

Swiftly making my escape from the girls, I caught up with the old man sitting on a bench in shade. With his legs crossed, his elbow positioned on his knee, his chin in his palm and his brows furrowed, he was letting the world know that he was bored, or frustrated, or both of that. And it had something to do with me.

"Did you wait long?" I began. His head whipped in my direction.

"Yeah, I was beginning to think that the girls kidnapped you or something." He half scoffed, half joked. He patted my back. "Let's go. What do you wanna do?"

"Let's just walk around the lake for a bit." I jerked my thumb at the direction at the said lake. "And I want to ask you something"

"Nn? The great knowledgeable Bunny needs something from the old man? What is it?" He asked, adjusting his domino mask.

"You know... One of the girls just now said something about 'yaoi', do you know what it is?" The old man visibly flinched, then he laughed awkwardly.

"It's nothing to be concerned about, Bunny. Just let it out of your head."

"The way you put it just makes me want to know. It wouldn't hurt to tell, old man." My tone suggested that I wouldn't take no for an answer, and he seemed to get that as well.

The old man took off his hat and scratched his head. "Well..." He said slowly, as if he was trying to find appropriate words to say. "Yaoi is... when two men are together..."

"Like us." I nodded.

"No! Not like that!" He waved his hand frantically. "Together in a... romantic sense, you know? And not the platonic kind." At this he averted his gaze elsewhere.

My head began to process the information. And when the words had registered in my brain, I felt my face heat up.

"Of course we aren't like that! What was she thinking!" That didn't come out as a squeak, definitely not.

"It's a subculture in Japan, you know?" He laughed nervously, putting his hat back onto his head.

"I'll never understand the Japanese..." I muttered. And we started walking towards the lake. I didn't know if I could pull this "date" off, especially after our little conversation. Stupid fangirls.

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><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

'_Geezes! Stupid me! I shouldn't have told him what it meant. Now things are even more complicated and awkward. But... it was his fault for asking...'_ I scratched my head and mumble "Stupid Bunny..."

We walked for a while and when we reached the lake, I cleared my throat to break off the silence and said " Oi Bunny, let's go water duck cycling."

"Huh? What's that?"

"You don't know what it is? It's when two people sit in a boat with a duck or swan shape and use their legs to pedal it in order to move forward."

"I know what it is! Why that all of a sudden?"

"It's work! We're doing this to enhance our image as a team, aren't we? Then this is just the right thing! Water duck cycling takes a lot of teamwork!"

"... Is that so..." he said in a mocking tone, but I didn't mind. It's just the usual him.

"Yes it is! Are you coming or not?"

"Very well. I'll go and see how this 'water duck cycling' thing is connected with teamwork."

"You'll see, you'll see."

* * *

><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

Okay, I stood corrected. This water duck pedaling was HARD. We'd been on this thing for a good while already and we were just going round and round.

"Hey Bunny! Don't pedal too fast! Your side is making us spinning!" The old man yelled in that annoying voice of his.

"Shut up, old man. Why don't you try to keep up with me?" I snapped at him, my patience was running thin. This whole thing was a bad idea, I knew it. A crowd of good size was starting to form on the edge of the lake. People were pointing at us, giggling and taking pictures. Even the couples on other boats were staring at us. We must had been a sight to behold, an old man and a young man on a duck pedal boat going in a circle and arguing. This was so embarrassing...

"You suck at this, Bunny. Try to put all that theories of yours to good use for once." The old man sighed with his palm planted on his face.

I was undeniably pissed. "I'm *trying*, so will you please zip it?"

He put a hand on my shoulder and shook his fist in what appeared to be a confident manner. "Alright, let's do it like this: on my count we both pedal, and keep pedaling to the rhyme, okay? The shore's just over there." He pointed to where we rented the (blasted) boat. "Let's roll!"

I had no choice but to listen to him. I had to get out of this thing as soon as possible. And I wouldn't be getting on one anytime soon. Period.

"Okay..." He began. "Three... two... one!" We started at the same time, and we pedaled to his count. Soon after we reached our destination. The boat keeper anchored our boat with a smile and bid us goodbye with amusement in his voice. Ugh, not him too.

"Yaaa, we weren't doing so bad, Bunny, so lighten up!" With that he slapped my back several times good-naturedly, laughing that obnoxious laugh of his. I didn't really hate it though.

"This is all your fault, you know?" Pushing the glasses up the bridge of my nose, I sighed. This man was going to be the death of me. And the sad thing was I knew it.

"You did better than my Kaede, you know?" He grinned while adjusting his hat.

"Kaede, your daughter?" I asked.

"Yup, my angel!" He beamed in a rather endearing way. "Took us an afternoon to get back to the shore. I was quite sure I wouldn't get on a boat ever again."

"Oh." So that explained why he was so experienced with pedaling. And the last part made me smile. We weren't so different, thinking-wise.

"Penny for your thoughts, Bunny. Whatcha smilin' about?" The old man poked me on the shoulder while leering at me.

"Nothing at all." Swatting his hand away, I gave him a look akin to disgust. "And stop that. It's creepy." And I started walking ahead of him, ignoring his indignant shout while hiding my own smile. Nosy, amusing old man.

Catching up with me, the old man huffed. "You're not really cute at all for a bunny."

"Because I'm not Bunny, I'm Barnaby." I stated as a matter-of-fact. "And what are we going to do now?"

The old man shrugged. "I don't know, your choice. I'm fine with whatever."

"Well..." I took a glance about and something caught my eyes. I pointed to that place. "How about cycling around the park?"

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

Because I was the one to choose the first game, I insisted on Bunny choosing the next one. I wanted to know what kind of game will he choose.

"Multi-person bicycle?" I asked him again. I was stunned. "That's a team work kind of sport too, isn't it?"

"Yes... You have to pedal it as well." He answered calmly.

"So why did you decide on that?"

"I just felt like it. Why are you asking so much?" his face showed a definitely annoyed expression.

I made a pose as to defend myself from the possible future attacks and continued. "N-no... I just thought that you'd like to play something cooler... like bottle shooting... or something..."

"Huh?"

"Besides, didn't you hate the game just now?"

"Not really... I just thought that this might be a good chance for..." He paused for a long time "us to become..." Another long, long pause. "To enhance our working abilities as a team."

"Is that so?" I asked him nonchalantly. He flinched and blushed a lot. I wondered why, but didn't care much. "It's just like you to think about something so deeply... Alright! Let's go!" I threw my arms around his shoulder to express my enthusiasm, but he slapped it away instantly and walked quickly forward. I stood there dejected and the right hand, which had nowhere to go, hanged needlessly on air.

Suddenly he turned around "What are you standing there for? Are you coming or not?"

I grinned and ran towards him.

* * *

><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

'_THAT was close! He almost found out that I didn't know how to shoot. I need to take care of this weakness right away! Good thing that he's an idiot. And why has it become even harder to express my feelings? To think that I was going to say "to become closer to each other"... Tch, all because of those crazy fangirls. I felt my face burning. I hope that the old man won't notice this... Right I take that back. He's really an idiotic heartless old man. To think he added fuel to fire by embracing me from behind... Even though it was just and arm over shoulder.'_ Well, I pushed him away and walked ahead, but feeling quite guity, I turned back and called him in an as normal voice as I could. Good thing that this ended well. Good thing that he was an idiot.

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

"Okay old man, let's go."

"Ummm... Bunny?"

"Yes? Is there something wrong?"

"I would really like to know... if this is your hobby or what?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... IT'S PINK! The bicycle is pink! I know your hero costume is quite PINK, but that doesn't mean that you actually like PINK... does it?" this was a real surprise for me. I genuinely wanted to know.

"Tha- What are you talking about?" he became tomato red "it's just because the shop doesn't have any more bicycles of other colors!" he crazily waved his hand in denial. This was the first time I saw him so flustered... No... Not really... He had been like that the whole time today... I wondered why...

"Bunny, are you alright? Are you having a fever? Your face is bright red you know?"

As I extended my hand out to check his temperature, Bunny slapped my hand away. Again. And what baffled me even more was his surprised face, it seemed that he didn't even know what he had just done. What was with him today?

"I-I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me." He said sheepishly, and with in a more apologetic tone he continued. "And sorry about that."

"It's okay." Still a little stunned, I tentatively rubbed my poor hand and smiled at him. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you are not well, okay? Anyway, let's get going!" Feigning excitement I climbed onto the first seat of the multicycle.

"Hold on, why are you taking that seat?" He asked, raising a brow.

"Oh come on, let the expert take lead, Bunny! You couldn't even pedal properly just now!" Grinning, I patted the seat behind me. "Get on, don't make an old man wait."

Bunny, as expected, rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long-suffering sigh, but he complied and grudgingly got on the seat nonetheless. "I'm not sure if I should entrust my life to you, but since you are so bent on that..." Even though he said this and that, there was an underlying tone of humor in his voice and the small turn up of the corner of his mouth definitely confirmed that.

Feeling a bit triumphant, I pumped my fist excitedly and whooped. "Alright! Let's roll!"

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><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

It didn't turn out so bad this time. The old man and I kind of cooperated and only bickered once or twice, and it was nothing serious. We pedaled around the lake before going to the cobblestone road that led to the edge of the park. On the way some people recognized me and called out to me, I just smiled and waved in response. As we got to the more secluded part of the park there were no one around at all, and that relieved me. Being the center of attention all the time tired me out, so this was an blessed escape, which was brought by yours truly - the old man.

"Enjoying yourself?" The aformentioned old man asked without turning to look at me. At least he had the decency to keep his eyes on the road.

"Hm, well yes. As astonishing as it is, you're quite good at these kinds of things."

"Yup, just because you think low of me doesn't mean I'm incompetent!" The old man peered over his shoulder to look at me, humor and smugness evident in his eyes. Then he directed his gaze to our surroundings. The narrow road we were cycling on had trees on two sides with huge rocks of various shapes and size scattered here and there among the trees. The scenery wasn't anything to marvel at, but the nice weather made up for it.

"What a nice breeze." I spoke up, breaking the temporary silence.

"Isn't it?" The old man replied. "Hey, how about we take a break and have lunch here? That place looks really cosy." He pointed at a small family restaurant on the left side ahead. The place itself was nothing grand, just white-and-red-painted wooden planks nailed together, small patches of bushes decorated the windowsills, and a small and worn "welcome" sign hanged on the door. There were some tables and benches outside too, along with parasols to shield them from the harsh sunlight. Nicely put together, and the warm and comfortable vibe it gave off really drew people in, I concluded.

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

"Where would you like to sit, Bunny? Inside or outside?"

"I think we should sit outside. It's sunny out here, but it is not really hot here. On the contrary, the breeze is quite nice." He commented.

"Alright!"

As soon as we sat down a waitress came handing a menu to us.

"Oh!" I exclaimed happily, "You have hamburger here as well?"

"Yes, that's actually our trade mark."

"Cool! Then I'll take that one!" it was my favorite food after all.

"In that case," Bunny closed the menu "I would like to try the hamburger as well."

"Then that's 2 hamburger, isn't it? Would you like something to drink?"

"Hmm..." I thought for a while "When it comes to hamburger... then COLA is the best, isn't it?"

"Yes, I think so too" Bunny agreed, so we ordered 2 colas. As we were waiting for our food to be brought out, the waitresses and some people passing by recognized us and stopped to ask Bunny to give them his autograph. I was left out as usual. And somehow our presence in this restaurant bugged the other customer's interest, so they like flooded into the restaurant. Good for them.

Soon our food arrived.

"Thanks to you, our restaurant has a full house now, so this salad is on the house, please enjoy."

"Thank you!" I hummed "Let's dig in!"

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><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

"Eh, wait a minute... what's this?" The thing laid before me wasn't the "hamburger" that I had imagined.

"It's a burger, Bunny-chan."

"No I mean, aren't hamburgers supposed to be like 2 slices of bread outside and then meat and vegetables slapped in between?" at least that's what I think... or at least that was how I had been seeing it and eating it for a long time now. But the dish in front of me was nowhere near that. There was a big meatloaf and a sunny-side up fried egg, some beans and potato and a bowl of rice.

"No, that's American style of hamburger. This one is, a Japanese hamburger steak." The old man explained. "But I didn't think they would have it here though. The restaurant looked kind of French after all."

"... Is that so... that means it's not hamburger after all..." I sighed

"But this one is quite good as well. Just try it. You might like it even more than that hamburger. I guarantee it! Or did you want to eat the fast food burger?"

"No that's not it..." I sighed "Guess I'll just eat it some other time. Right now, it's all about enjoying this hamburger steak! Let's eat!"

'_That was close! Just a little bit more and I would have told him that I missed his way of eating a hamburger... The insane amount of mayonnaise and the way he squashed the burger, making meat and vegetables fly out... that was quite a scene I would like to see again... or something... Anyway, good thing that I didn't say anything. Or else, it would seem quite weird for me to be wanting to see something as disgusting as that again... I wonder why?'_

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><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

"That was a good meal. I'm stuffed!" Sighing in contentment and patting my stomach, I turned to my companion of the day, who was being flocked with fangirls. During our meal a handful already approached us, now there was more? Ugh, times like this made me think that my unpopularity was a blessing in disguise. Being surrounded by mobs of panting and squealing girls every time you went outside didn't sound very appealing.

"I have to go now, my partner is waiting." I heard Bunny saying to the girls and them drooping in disappointment, some even glared at me ferociously as if I had stolen something very precious from them. Bunny turned to me and put on a commercial smile. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah." Ignoring more glares sent my way, we started walking away from the crowd much to my relief. If I stayed any longer in their sight my lifespan could be shortened. "Where should we go now, Bunny?"

Bunny hummed thoughtfully. Before he could say anything a shrill shriek interrupted us. "Thief!"

Both turned their heads to the source simultaneously. Surely enough, there was a woman in distress, and then there was your typical run-of-the-mill thief until said thief glowed a blue light and hopped away. So his power was high jumping.

Nodded to each other Without saying anything, we gave chase to the now escaping thief.

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><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

As soon as the thief realized that there were people hot on his heels, he jumped onto a side of a skyscraper and began an impressive show of le parkour to the top of the building. Without delay we activated our power at the same time and ran after him. He might not have expected us to be NEXTs, because when he looked back to leer at us, his expression turned into that of a deer in headlights. I had to bite back a smirk at that, and I was sure the old man did, too.

When we reached the top, the thief glared at us, albeit hesitant to initiate the first move. The old man beside me didn't waste any time to step up and point at the cornered thief. "Wild Tiger and Bunny-"

"It's not Bunny, it's Barnaby!" I corrected him in frustration. Did he seriously say his stupid nickname for me in front of a damn criminal? "And also," I turned to the thief, now seemingly confused at our interaction. "Surrender and you won't be hurt."

Frowning, he asked. "Wild Tiger and Barnaby? As in the loser and the new Hero?"

"What! Who are you calling a loser you bastard!" The old man flailed indignantly, vein popping on his temple. Heh, even the petty criminals looked down on him.

"You, who else? And hell no, as if I'd give in to you son of bitches!" With that he crouched and jumped to the next next building. Well, tried to, anyway.

"Oh no, you're not getting away!" In the mid of his jump, the thief got tied with the old man's wires and fell down, taking the old man with him. "Shit!"

"Old man!" Unthinkingly I jumped after him before he could plummet to his death. Not that he could in his powered form, anyway. But just thinking of him being in danger put me on motion. And the relief of successfully catching him (along with the dangling criminal) was overwhelming, and that baffled me in ways I didn't understand. Nor did I want to.

Landing on a near building with the old man in my arms (and the thief still dangling), I asked him, not out of concern, of course not. "Are you okay?"

He looked at me wide-eyed for a second before sheepishly answered. "Yeah, thanks. And I think we should pull that guy up." He tugged at the wire from his wristwatch in indication. I nodded curtly and helped him haul the guy onto the building. By the time we got him up he was spewing profanities and curses, all of them to us and the cruel God and whatever else he could think of.

"...Damn it! And it was my first time, too-" Before he could blabber any more, the old man threatened to punch his face in if he didn't shut up. That worked, kind of. The thief quieted down, occassionally grumbled a thing or two but didn't kick up a fuss like before.

"Atta boy." He sighed, shaking his head, then he turned to look at me. "Did you call the police, Bunny?" At my nod he beamed. "And the Sternbild's rid of another criminal! And... Oh!" I perked my head at his exclamation, and followed his gaze.

"Sunset, huh?" I murmured, mostly to myself.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I couldn't help but agree with him. The setting sun painted the sky with an orange and yellow hue, cloud with warm colors rolled in the sky without a care. But I was more mesmerized with the way the lights were playing with his features. They seemed to enhance his beauty even more. Especially his eyes, his hazel nuts eyes glowed a golden color.

So wild. So unrestrained. so beautiful.

...What was I thinking? I didn't realize that I had been staring at him of the corners of my eyes. It was a good thing that he didn't notice, though. The old man would have a field day with that if he knew.

We stayed like that until the police siren shook us out of whatever reverie we had. Our powers had worn out some time ago, so we had to choice but to take the long way down - the elevator. With a load of burden, no less.

Turning to me, the old man smiled lopsidedly. "Shall we go?"

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger's POV~<strong>

Sunset. To think that this disastrous day would end with such a beautiful scene. The morning "date" with Bunny and then the criminal, who we had to chase through the whole city. So tired. But I had to say thanks to the criminal though. Good thing that he ran into this building and we had to chase him to the highest floor or else we would never had been able to see this.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Bunny said still looking at the sun.

"Yeah. Summer's sunsets are the best! Besides, from here you can see the whole city of Sternbild as well as the horizon. It really is beautiful."

"Yes, but that's not all. It has been a while since I felt so relaxed looking at the sunset."

"Eh? What do you mean by "it has been a while"?"

"I don't like sunsets. It makes the whole sky red. It's like a huge flame in the sky, burning everything to crisps." He stopped. His voice sounded very bitter. I was going to called out to him to make him stop, but I really wanted to know about what he would say next. "Red, blood, flame... they all remind me of my parent's murder."

I should have known... "Bunny..."

"Do you know why I always wear red?" he looked at me and answered the question himself "It's not because I like it or anything. I wear it because the color RED will remind me of things I have to do... which is taking revenge for my mom and dad."

"Bunny... I..."

"But I wonder why that today's sunset doesn't remind me of my parents' murder... Maybe... it's because you're here with me, old man."

"Bunny... Yeah! That's what partners are for, isn't it!" I placed my hand on his shoulder. Didn't seem that he was going to shoot it away this time. Good.

"So that's how you took it in. Well, I'll just take it slowly" he muttered. Oh well.

"You guys are a really friendly aren't you?" the criminal suddenly spoke up "Just one glance and I knew you are the same type as me."

"What do you mean?" I asked, but he didn't answer. He just continued on with his own story.

"Let me tell you why I was caught in the first place...To tell you the truth... I'm a gay."

'_So straight forward'_ I thought, but didn't say anything.

"I fell in love with a man... And he said, he loved me as well, but the society won't accept us so I have to turn into a slim girl with big boobs. As you can see, I'm just a poor salary-man, so I didn't have any money to go and change my gender. But I was so in love with him that I couldn't take it anymore. So I..."

"So you went to rob the bank..." Bunny said in his place.

"That's right. I went to rob the bank. And was caught as you can see."

"Yes I can. You're right in front of us. So?" he asked the criminal "What did you hope to gain through telling us all this?"

"Please! You understand me, don't you? I mean the guy in pink! I did it for love, not because I wanted the money! I just wanted love! So please let me go!"

"You may have did it for love, but the fact that you hurt other people can't be denied (justified). You'll have to stay in prison to atone for your sin." I explained to him, but he didn't listen to me once again. What a troublesome guy.

"So" Bunny started "You think his love for you is real? If his love for you is real, the why did he ask you to do something like that?" he was furious for an unknown reason to me.

"B-Bunny?" I tried to stop him, but people seemed to really like to ignore me these days.

"If he loved you, the he should love you for the way you are! And he would go against the society even if he had to! And what's with you saying that we are the same! Don't compare me to you! True my love is also one sided, but I love that person the way he is! Even if he is a man, I still love him! Even if he's old, I still love him! That's what real love is!" He shouted

"..." we were speechless. He really did shut us up good.

"What are you looking at?" he panted because of all the screaming.

"N-No... nothing..."I still couldn't find anything to say "Just... I... Just never though that someone like you have a one-sided love... ahahaha" what an awkward laugh.

He glared at me. I flinched. The air around us was really tense. But, the criminal, who really didn't know how to read the atmosphere, cut it off.

"Oh my God. Then are you saying that I should fall in love for you? Then don't worry! I have already fallen for you!"

"Hah? When did I say such a THING?" the criminal jumped on Bunny and reached out for his mouth. Somehow he got stronger all of a sudden, even Bunny couldn't shake him off. The criminal kept trying to kiss bunny, while moving his body up and down against Bunny... Well, Bunny was wearing his hero suit so he wouldn't be able to feel anything, but it still looked really gross to me... in one way or another...

"Old man! What are you doing? Hurry up and get me get him out of my face... or my body!"

"Oh~ Why are you so shy~ Don't worry if it's your fist time~ I'm a professional, I'll definitely make you feel good~" he used his tongue and licked Bunny's cheeks! Ua! Now I really can't take it anymore! Really have to shut him up or else I'm going to barf! I have goosebumps all over my body already!

I rushed towards him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tried to pull him away. No success. To counter my move, he used his legs and wrapped them around Bunny... tightly.

"Hey you! What are you doing? Getting between me and him?" the criminal asked me "Are you jealous? You're not my type though, so go away!"

"I don't want to be your type, seriously!" I shouted in denial. Then I grabbed him by his trousers and kept pulling him away.

"Help~ Bunny-chan! The Old man is bullying me!" the criminal weeped

"Who said you can call me Bunny! It's Barnaby for you!" Bunny used his hands to push him away, but still no success.

"Where the hell did he get this power! Why is he so strong!" I couldn't believe this. He is stronger than me and Bunny together!

"It's the power of my love!" the guy answered... yeah right...

Along that time, I heard footsteps rushing towards us "Bunny, don't worry, the police are here already."

"Is that so. Good." He said in relief. But unfortunately for him, the danger didn't stop there.

"What! The police are here already! I have to hurry! Barnaby-chan, please let me kiss you just this once!" somehow, he got new strength out of nowhere and pulled himself back to Bunny and along with him, myself. But his attempt was a failure, because of the impact, his legs slipped of taking away his base and so he was pulled him down. And well, the one behind him was, of course, me... And so, just as you have guessed... our lips bummed into each other... I was so shocked that I couldn't move... We stayed like that for some real long time... In reality, it was just 10 second or less, but it felt like centuries for me...

And then the police came and took away the criminal. Good thing that we managed to separate from each other before they came, or else, it would have become a scandal.

* * *

><p><strong>Bunny's POV~<strong>

After the police had the guy vanned the old man stretched his arms and turned to face me. "Whew, I'm beat! Sure took a while to arrest that guy, didn't it, Bunny?"

"Yes, he was quite a slippery one..." I trailed off, remembering the way that homo's arms sneaked around me and his body wriggled against mine. I made quite a face in disgust and contempt at the traumatic, goosebumps-inducing memory. And then there were my almost-confession and the accidental kiss... I want to get out of here. I want to sink through the floor. I want to disappear AAAAHH-

"Bunny. Bunny? Are you okay? You don't look so hot there... Wait, actually, it's quite on the contrary, your face is burning!" The old man asked out of concern. It was all his fault, damn it. The more frustrating part was that he didn't probably even realize it. Before I could brush him off he continued. "Is it because of that guy crawling all over you? Or is it..."

Stop it. Stop. Don't say it. "Both. And it was just an accident. It's nothing..." Damn it, blood, go back to where you belong. Stop stagnating at my face and resume your circulatory schedule!

"If you say so...?" The old man scratched his cheek quizzically, obviously confused about my behaviour. That, his rosy cheeks and wide eyes didn't help my blood circulation at all. At this rate I would spontaneously combust and become a beautiful red flower on the pavement and be the first person to prove science wrong that people could die from embarrassment.

Before I could mentally hyperventilate any further, the old man cut in. "By the way, we still haven't decided on where to go next, Bunny. What do you want to do? I want to eat something, though." Slightly calmed down after the topic change, I thought for a moment before speaking.

"...How about some sundaes?"

The old man stared at me as if I had grown two heads and wore five pairs of glasses at the same time. Okay, that was real smooth, Barnaby Brooks Jr. You and this guy just had a little accident involving lips-bumping and now you asked him to eating sundaes. Good going, Barnaby, good going. I almost wanted to punch myself in the face. But instead of that, I observed as the old man shifted from being thoughtful to grinning widely and giving me a thumbs up.

"Okay! Sounds good to me!"

The face he made melted all of my worries away. That was worth it.

And so, we headed for the nearest sundae shop. Upon our arrival several waitresses flocked to me like predators to a herbivore. And no, I didn't admit I was Bunny, nope. After getting the best seats with an excellent view to the city there were in the shop, I took the menus from a waitress and thanked her, eliciting a blush from her. I handed a menu to the old man, who after some time of contemplating whether to choose a strawberry or a lime sundae decided on a mint chocolate chips sundae. What was the whole point of thinking if you chose the third option? It was a mystery to me.

I closed the menu after ordering a black coffee without sugar or milk. As the giggling waitress hurried off, I noticed the old man's gaze was on me. "What?"

"Why didn't you order a sundae? You don't like sweet things?" He asked, chin resting on his palm.

"No, I don't." I answered. "And you'll get diabetes if you keep eating sugar, old man."

"What! Let me tell you, diabetes won't get me because I work out everyday!" He scoffed and jabbed his thumb at his chest.

"If you count sleeping in the training room as working out, then yes, you really "worked out" every day." I stated dryly, unimpressed by his antics.

The old man huffed and turned to the window while pouting at full force and arms crossed. Not this again. Looking at those pursed lips just made me want to grab them- Wait, what?

Fortunately enough for me, a waitress approached us with our orders on tray before my thoughts could venture into a dangerous territory. After muttering our thanks, the old man took a minute to stare at his sundae, which looked quite good. There was a scoop of mint chocolate chips icecream in the glass topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup and maraschino cherry dipped in chocolate, near the rim of the glass there were some mint leaves for decor. Simple, yet elegant.

"Bon appetite!" Wasting no time, the old man quickly devoured a spoonful of icecream. "Mm, what a minty feeling!"

Chuckling at his lame joke, I sipped my coffee, savoring its bitter taste. Not bad, maybe I could order the coffee from this place to work.

"Hey Bunny, don't you want some?" He asked, scooped a spoonful and presented it in front of my face.

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm go-" Before I could say another word he shoved the damn spoon into my mouth.

"Oh come on! Try some, I even gave you my cherry!" He grinned, apparently oblivious to the implication of his sentence. I could feel my face heat up again. Another kiss with him! Although this one was indirect, but that still counted. And I popped his cherry- NONONONONO not in that sense! Stop it mind, don't conjure up inappropriate images with the old man and me doing inappropriate things! And body, don't react to it!

"So? So? How does it taste?" He asked excitedly. If I could, I would damn this old man to Hell and back for being so damnably adorable and dense. Begrudingly , I chewed on the cherry, its sweetness on my tongue felt alien, yet so delicious.

"It tastes good..." I murmured quietly.

"Isn't it?" And he ate yet another spoonful of ice cream. I flushed, realizing that it was another indirect kiss.

I hate you, old man. But that's not true.

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger's POV~ <strong>

_'What the hell is wrong with Bunny anyway? It was him who suggested us go eating sundaes. He's really weird after all.'_

The room was filled with people's talking and laughing, but around us, a quiet atmosphere was dominating. There was no contact between us, except for my attempts to establish a conversation to which Bunny answered half-heartedly and ended the conversation quickly.

Unable to take the tension anymore, I quickly finished up my sundae "Okay, Bunny, it's quite late already, so let's go home."

"But it's only 9. You usually sit in that Hero's Bar until late at night don't you?"

"Ahhh. That, I forgot that I have things to do. Sorry Bunny." He didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer, but stood up anyways.

We walked together to the parking lot in silence.

"Then this is where we part Bunny. Good night." I waved hands to him, turned around and walked to my car.

I walked away but I didn't hear the footsteps from Bunny, but I ignored him, todays was really tiring, I want to go back home as soon as possible.

"Old man!" he suddenly called from behind. I turned back and saw Bunny making a 'what have I done' face.

"Hm? You need something, Bunny?"

He snapped back and coolly answered "N-No, it's nothing. Sorry."

"Is that so, then I'm going now. Bye" I waved my hand to him again.

"Goodbye..."

**The next day~**

I opened the door and saw all the HEROES gathered up in the training room.

"Oh? Why are you guys so early? What's the occasion?" I asked without noticing everybody's tense faces.

Suddenly Blue Rose came to me and "You! To think you actually did THAT! I have misjudged you!" shouted into my face.

"You two are really close, aren't you? I wish Bison and me were the same" Fire Emblem said while nudging Antonio.

"I-idiot! Don't do that kind of thing here." Bison flustered.

"To think that you have that kind of interest, Tiger-kun. But there's nothing that can get in the way of love." Sky High put his hand on my shoulder as if understanding me.

"Kotetsu-san, Kotetsu-san" Origami called me "The thing you guys did yesterday is called YAOI isn't it?"

*CRACK*

"Huh?" I looked behind and saw Bunny standing there, his grasses shattered. "Bunny! How long have you been here?"

"About when Origami said something about YAOI..."

"I-is that so..."

"So? What's the commotion about?" he seemed to have gained his calmness back after having changed his broken pair of glasses.

"Don't play dumb." The doors behind me opened up yet again "Did you think that we didn't catch that scene on camera? This video here is the ultimate proof." With that said, Agnes turned on the TV.

* * *

><p><strong>Video~<strong>

_"Help~ Bunny-chan! The Old man is bullying me!" the criminal weeped._

_"Who said you can call me Bunny! It's Barnaby for you!" Bunny used his hands to push him away, but still no success._

_"Where the hell did he get this power! Why is he so strong!" I couldn't believe this. He is stronger than me and Bunny together!_

_"It's the power of my love!" the guy answered... yeah right..._

_Along that time, I heard footsteps rushing towards us "Bunny, don't worry, the police are here already."_

_"Is that so. Good." He said in relief. But unfortunately for him, the danger didn't stop there._

_"What! The police are here already! I have to hurry! Barnaby-chan, please let me kiss you just this once!" somehow, he got new strength out of nowhere and pulled himself back to Bunny and along with him, myself. But his attempt was a failure, because of the impact, his legs slipped of taking away his base and so he was pulled him down. And well, the one behind him was, of course, me... And so, just as you have guessed, our lips bummed into each other. I was so shocked that I couldn't move... We stayed like that for some real long time... In reality, it was just 10 second or less, but it felt like centuries for me..._

* * *

><p>"You think that we couldn't catch this on video? Think again." Agnes smiled wirily "Don't worry, I'm not going to broadcast this on the Sterbild's live news, even though it would be such a hit, I'll just put it on the bl fansite, so really, don't worry."<p>

"That's what worries me the most!" I shouted.

"Old man."

"Yes? Did you say something, Bunny?" I turned to his direction only to see his face right next to mine "Gah! Why are you so close?"

"Old man, do you hate being with me that much?" he got even closer.

"Eh? Bunny? Bunny?" I can feel Fire Emblem and others staring at us and I can hear "Agnes, stop taking photos! Why are you carrying a camera with you anyway!"

"Of course it's to capture these moment, you idiot."

"Bunny? Calm down, I'm not talking about that you know?"

"Do you hate me old man?"

"Eh? Now, how can I ever hate you Bunny?"

"Then do you love me?" he asked with a serious face

"Eh? That I..." I can FEEL the intense stares from others... _'Somebody, anybody... Please HELP!'_

**Happy ending?**


End file.
